I can’t find any reviews so I’m not sure what it’s useful for? I already have the uconsole so I’m on the fence li guess lol https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/copy-of-uconsole-kit-a-06://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/copy-of-uconsole-kit-a-06
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With the basic and lisp focus, I’m guessing they’re going for the 80s pocket computer, like a TRS 80 with a screen that makes it worth it. I also don’t think it’s a mistake the picture they chose for the product is basically showing it off as a modern graphing calculator. Use cases would overlap significantly with the uconsole where even its meager powers would not necessarily be needed, like using it as a portable terminal. And the exposed GPIO really open it up for hobby usage.
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The URL could be better (copy-of-unconsole-kit-a-06). I have the same issue on my Confluence/wiki pages at work.
I think the PicoCalc looks nice. It’s very fairly priced and I’m somewhat tempted to replace my very ancient TI-85 calculator. I’d have to whip up a few things in BASIC that I do with built-in functions like the Solver. But that’s not all that hard.
I showed my friend and the first thing he asked was “is it wireless?” … I guess use your phone if you want WiFi. I really don’t want another battery-sucking distraction machine.
DevTerm fully replaced my Tandy WP-2 project (sort of like a TRS Model 100 that is focused on word processing, but similar hardware). Keyboard on the WP-2 is better (fullsize) than a DevTerm, but portability, display, and ease of getting my software into it wins out.
uConsole is sort of a sweet spot because it makes a fun indie game console but it also works as a calculator. I’m running GForth on mine. Sadly, I wanted to run Factor or QB64 but there’s no RPi version yet.
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Give box86 a try. I’ve been using it to run picotron until the rpi64 version comes out and it’s been working flawlessly.
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Pico 1H and Pico 2H are standard microcontroller boards without Wi-Fi
Pico 1WH and Pico 2W include Wi-Fi
seems like it is!
I just ordered one. I recently have been toying around with a pico trying to make a similar device with a screen and buttons etc. The price might be a bit high, but getting the getting the parts fabed for a one off is still higher. Its almost exactly what I was envisioning for my own project. Ive been really happy with my uConsole so I have high hopes for it.
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That’s a good point, since it is upgradeable with newer models of the Pico microcontroller board. Although out-of-the-box it uses the Raspberry Pi Pico 1 H Core module (ARM32-bit Dual-core Cortex M0+, 264KB RAM, 2MB flash).
I’m not sure how satisfied people will be with the WiFi support on a Pico2 W that is buried inside of a case and doesn’t have enough memory to run a web browser. But making some HTTP-based queries in your app is possible, and kind of the point of these microcontrollers with WiFi. (think about how people use wifi on the ESP32 series, Pico2W competes directly with that use case)
Pico Calc’s bundled application is really where it shines in my opinion. Having something that takes you to an interactive interpreter a few milliseconds after you turn it on is a game changer. I think they ship with BASIC (my preference) but one could easily setup any number of interpreters on it and get some real work done. It looks like it’s going to be a handy little tool around the workshop.
how about the power consumption? not sure if you can put pico to sleep, i wonder how long it lasts because it defines whether practical to apply it for anything
I just ordered. Looks pretty impressive to me. I haven’t found the github repo yet?
I have QB64 running on my uConsole with CM5, no problem. Just follow the build instructions. It’s super easy.
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I imagine it could be wireless with a Pico W in it.
I ordered it immediately because I am a sucker for old calculators and handhelds. I have the uConsole and it is almost perfect for me, but a little big depending on what I am wearing or carrying. If I have a backpack or I am wearing a jacket with large pockets, it is fine. Even some cargo pants can handle it, but not all. The other aspect of the PicoCalc I like is the expected super long battery life. I had a lot of the TRS-80 pocket computers and still have some of them and that was one of the great things about them. They last forever on a battery. I also love pocket calculators and have owned almost all of the great ones at one time or another and still carry the Numworks calculator occasionally and this looks like a nice upgrade to that.
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My intention is to replace the Pico with a Pimoroni Pico Plus 2W (adds 16MB flash, 8MB psram) which should solve the memory issues, at least in terms of data storage – and for TILs like lisp, Forth, etc. data is code and vice versa. That’s also how I mostly intend to use it, as a platform for developing and deploying embedded-targeted Threaded-Interpreted Languages (TILs, I know the term hasn’t been seen much since the 1980s). Mind you, they don’t mean threaded in the way most read it – they’re referring to the structure of the interpreted code and execution, not multiprocessing entities – but they are amazingly powerful, esp. for embedded. In particular, the ULisp project is seeing loads of interest/attention lately, and supports a number of embedded platforms (incl. ARM / RPi Pico-ish, ESP32, and RISCV). More info at…
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I’ll likely be ordering one, but wondering why they didn’t design it with the Pi Zero 2W instead of a Pico?
I have a Beepy that uses the Pi Zero, but the PicoCalc seems to have a much more functional keyboard and screen
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I saw that beautiful design and I instantly added to cart. Very excited! I had a uConsole R-01 for awhile. I loved using it as a MP3 player and a PC remote control, but ultimately I wasn’t using it in my daily life because it was a bit too large to carry comfortably. picocalc looks a little smaller so it might fit in the pocket a bit better.
“wen ship?” I’m very excited to tinker with it!
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It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to fill my order. It only took about 6 months to get my uconsole.
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Honestly I am not interested in waiting another 6 to 12 months for it. IF they were shipped immediately then I would just get it as I don’t need it to be honest, but it is a nifty design.
As far as what it can do… Not much compared to the uConsole; although the target here is calculators users, not portable devices. To be honest you can emulate easily any old programmable calculator, so it is really a niche of a niche item, especially when things liike the old programmable calculators disappeared in the early 2000s
I would rather look at something that is bigger than a devterm more than a very small item like the pico calc to be honest… You can easily get something like the Lilygo devices that look like a blackberry and slap an emulator on it to run basic for example; but that’s me.
Mine got delivered on Tuesday
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That is really good news. Can’t wait to get mine.
Did you get an shipping notification email / tracking number, or was it a surprise?